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Lecturer in Charge: Dr Liudmila (Mila) Tarabashkina
Location:  Room – TBA, 10 Pulteney Street
email: liudmila.tarabashkina@adelaide.edu.au

Consultation hours: Fridays 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm
(please send me an email to book an appointment in advance)

Course Website: www.myuni.adelaide.edu.au

Tutors:
Hande Akman email: hande.akman@adelaide.edu.au
Gediminas Lipnickas email: ged.lipnickas@adelaide.edu.au

Week	Date	Lecture & Workshop Topics*	Textbook Chapters	Tutorial Program & Small Group Discovery	Assignments or tasks due
1	2 March	The Role of Market Research, Problem Definition and Research Process	1 & 2	No tutorial
2	9 March	The Nature of Qualitative Research and Qualitative Data Analysis	3 & 6	Form groups, discussion of the research project: objectives, desktop research (secondary data analysis, literature review), problem identification	Group membership is to be confirmed with the tutor 12th of March by 11:59 pm via email. Delay will result in 5% penalty mark for Assignment 1 for every day of delay for the group.
3	16 March	The Nature of Survey (Quantitative) Research	5	Development of focus group guides, identification of the target group, focus groups logistics	Focus group guides need to be finalised this week. Recruitment of focus group participants and project logistics sorted out. Focus groups need to be conducted at the end of this week or early next week prior to tutorial attendance.
4	23 March	Survey Design #1: Writing Questions, Measurement Levels and Introduction to Qualtrics	8 & 9	Qualitative data analysis from focus groups, report preparation	Qualitative data to be analysed this week. Assignment 1 (10%) due 26th of March by 11:59 pm (Saturday)
5	30 March	Sampling and Data Collection	8 & 9	Lessons from qualitative stage, questionnaire design against research objectives, Qualtrics questionnaires, questionnaire pre-test (logic, flow, wording, conditions)	Students need to start working on their questionnaires. Online questionnaires need to be finalised
6	6 April	An Overview of Statistical Analysis Techniques, Introduction to SPSS: Descriptives and Charting	10 & 11	Finalising Qualtrics questionnaires, identification of the target group	Questionnaire needs to go in field this week/data collection starts
	13 April	Mid Semester Break			Data collection monitoring
	20 April	Mid Semester Break			Data collection continues. Data collection ends prior to tutorial attendance in Week 7
7	27 April	Data Analysis: Tests of Differences and Associations	12 & 13	Data analysis exercises – data provided on MyUni. Descriptives and charting Data analysis using students’ data	Students’ analysis of their own data on background
8	4 May	Data Analysis: Multivariate Analysis	14	Data Analysis Exercises – data provided on MyUni. Test of difference and associations. Data analysis using students’ data	Students’ analysis of their own data on background Preparation for assignment 2
9	11 May	Interpretation and Report Writing	15	Assignment 2 (30%) in tutorial (45 minutes). Data Analysis Exercises – data provided on MyUni. Multivariate analysis	Students’ analysis of their own data on background
10	18 May	Managing customer value Experiments	16	Data Analysis & Reporting using own data	Student’s analysis of their own data. Preparation for assignment 3
11	25 May	Observations	7	Assignment 3 (20%) – group presentation in tutorial.	Assignment #3 soft copy needs to be submitted via Turnitin 23rd May by 11:59 pm
12	1 June	Course review	All chapters above	Course review in tutorial	Students need to start preparing for exam

*If lectures are scheduled for a public holidays, they will be available online

Knowledge and Understanding
This course is designed to provide students with a basic understanding of the market research process and the role of market research in strategic decision-making. There will be a focus on understanding the theoretical components of research design, as well as developing practical skills in data collection, analysis and interpretation.

Through practical application within a market research project, students will design a research project including a sampling and research method, develop a focus group guide and a survey, manage data collection, conduct qualitative and quantitative data analysis, interpret results, and present research findings. Emphasis will be placed on developing written and oral communication skills for presentation to corporate clients. Ethical business frameworks will also be reiterated and required to be adopted.

Learning Outcomes
By the end of this course students should be able to:
1. Discuss the scope and managerial importance of market research and its role in the development of marketing strategy

2. Provide a detailed overview of the stages in the market research process

3. Develop research questions and objectives that can be addressed in a research design

4. Develop a market research design; including
• Identifying appropriate research approaches (from qualitative, survey, observation, and experimental research techniques)
• Preparing measurement instruments (including surveys and focus group outlines)
• Designing a sampling approach and sampling frame

5. Manage the data collection process

6. Use contemporary statistical packages to calculate and report descriptive statistics from quantitative data

7. Interpret data analysis in the context of the identified business problem

8. Communicate research results in written and oral presentation formats

TEXT BOOK

Marketing Research (3rd Asia-Pacific Edition) by Zikmund, D’Alessandro, Winzar, Lowe, B., and Babin. Published by Cengage Learning Australia, Melbourne, 2014. ISBN: 9780170236027
An e-book version may also be purchased ISBN: 0170236021

Course Outline and Powerpoint slides (available from MyUni course site).

Data analysis:
The following text is not required but may be useful in completing some of the course activities.
Pallant, J. (2013). SPSS Survival Manual: A Step by Step Guide to Data Analysis Using IBM Spss. McGraw-Hill.  BSL: 005.369 S771ZP.

Qualitative research and data analysis:
Berg, B.L. (2001). Qualitative research methods for the social sciences. Boston: Allyn & Bacon BSL: 300.72 B493q.8.

Morgan, D. L. (1998). The focus group guidebook. Focus group kit 1. London: Sage Publications, Inc. BSL: 001.433 M847f.

QUALTRICS
The data collection software that we use can be found at www.adelaide.qualtrics.com. DO NOT GO TO QUALTRICS THROUGH GOOGLE as it will cause account problems. You can use your student ID to build a Qualtrics account.

Both the MyUni course site and the textbook website are valuable resources for this course. MyUni will be the primary form of (non-class) contact. You will find all of the lectures recorded and uploaded to MyUni, as well as a series of self check questions which are extremely valuable for crystallising the concepts covered in lectures and tutorials.

This course entails a weekly 2-hour lecture and one 1.5 hour tutorial per week. The audio of lectures will be uploaded weekly on MyUni.

Tutorial classes will be held weekly commencing the week beginning Monday March 7. YOU MUST ATTEND THE FIRST TUTORIAL – we will allocate teams and discuss research briefs in that tute. Students wishing to swap between tutorial classes after this time are required to present their case to the Lecturer-in-Charge, but should be aware that such a request may not be approved.

The University expects full-time students (i.e. those taking 12 units per semester) to devote a total of 48 hours per week to their studies. This means that you are expected to commit approximately 9 hours for a three-unit course of private study outside of your regular classes.

Students in this course are expected to attend all lectures throughout the semester plus one tutorial class each week.

Tutorials are an important component of your learning in this course. The communication skills developed in tutorials by regularly and actively participating in discussions are considered to be most important by the School and are highly regarded by employers and professional bodies.

Online Quizzes are an optional component of the course. There will be an online quiz available for you to complete each week. They consist of 25 multiple choice questions, can be done as many times as you like, and do not count for your assessment. The questions themselves test the theoretical components of the course.

This course requires you to learn the principles of market research, but you are also required to practically apply those principles. So, there are lectures per week, where we talk about what is in the text, but your major continuous assessment involves conducting a piece of market research. We will allocate the groups in week 2. We don’t want you swapping around. In groups of four or five, you will be required to conduct a piece of market research, involving both qualitative and quantitative methodologies.

TURNITIN FOR ASSIGNMENTS
Assignment 1 (week 4), 2 (week 9), and 3 (week 11) will need to be submitted via Turnitin using the MyUni site. Due dates for each assessment are specified in sections 1.3 and 5.1 of this outline. All submissions need to occur on the specified date by 11.59 pm. For group assessments, only one person per group is to submit via Turnitin on behalf of the group members.

Assessment Task	Due	Weighting	Learning Outcome
Assignment #1: Focus groups report, (Qualitative insights) (Group assessment)	Week 4: 26th of March via Turnitin by 11:59 pm	10%	1, 2, 3, 4, & 7
Assessment # 2: Statistics application test (Individual Assessment)	Week 9:Task is to be completed in tutorial beginning 9th of May and uploaded via Turnitin by the end of allocated time	20%	6, 7 & 8
Assignment #3: Quantitative findings report (Group assessment) and presentation (Individual Assessment) (continuation from Assignment 1)	Week 11: Soft copy needs to be submitted via Turnitin May 23rd by 11:59 pm Presentations in tutorial beginning May 23rd*	Summative 30%: 20% (group assessment) + 10% (individual assessment)	2, 4, 5, 6, 7, & 8
Assessment #4: Final exam - 3 hours; closed book (Individual Assessment)	TBA	40%	1, 2, 4, 7, & 8
Total		100%

* Some groups may be asked to schedule time and/or location outside of their assigned tutorial.

1. To gain a pass for this course, a mark of at least 45% must be obtained on the examination as well as a total of at least 50% overall.          Students not achieving the minimum exam mark will be awarded no more than 49%.
2. Supplementary exams will be offered to students who achieve 45-49% in the exam in accordance with University policy.
3. Students achieving less than 45% for the exam – regardless of overall course mark – will receive a fail. This is when the student has shown nowhere near enough understanding of the course in the exam.
4. All assignments are to be lodged prior to the due date and time. A late assignment where no extension has been granted will be penalised by a reduction of 5% of the mark given for each day that it is late.
5. Extensions to the due date of individual assessment may be granted under special circumstances. An extension request or application for supplementary exam based on illness or compassionate grounds must include the "Supporting Statement / Certification Form" that is page 4 of the Supplementary Assessment application available at: www.adelaide.edu.au/student/exams/pdfs/supp_applic.pdf. Students applying for an extension based on medical reasons must visit their medical practitioner, with that approved University form, and have the medical practitioner complete it. A normal doctor's certificate will not be accepted.
6. Legible hand-writing and the quality of English expression are considered to be integral parts of the assessment process. Marks may be deducted for poor hand-writing and grammatical expression.
7. Students in this course are not permitted to take a DICTIONARY (English or English-Foreign) into the examination. In this course, the use of calculators in the examination is not permitted. Also, students are not permitted to bring mobile phones into the examination.
8. Assessment rubrics will be provided in the tutorials and posted on MyUni.

Per your course outline in MyUni

Presentation of Assignments
• Please retain a copy of all assignments submitted.
• All group assignments must be attached to a ‘Group Assignment Cover Sheet’, which must be signed and dated by all group members before submission – even for electronic submissions. All team members are expected to contribute approximately equally to a group assignment.
• Assignments 1 and 3 must be submitted as a digital copy via Turnitin before 11.59 pm of the assigned day.
• Hardcopy submission of Assignment # 3 should be made to your tutor prior to your scheduled presentation (inability to reach your tutor is not an acceptable reason for not submitting).
• Assignment #2 must be submitted via Turnitin at the end of the allotted time in tutorial.

Lecturers can refuse to accept assignments, which do not have a signed acknowledgement of the University’s policy on plagiarism. This is a legal document that must be included with every submission.

A copy of the Postgraduate Programs: Communication Skills Guide will have been given to you at the beginning of your program. This guide will assist you structure your assignments. A copy of the guide can also be downloaded from
http://www.business.adelaide.edu.au/current/mba/download/2009MBACommSkillsGuide.pdf

This publication also provides guidelines on a range of other important communication skills including writing essays and management reports, making oral presentations etc.

In preparing any written piece of assessment for your studies it is important to draw on the relevant ‘literature’ to support critical analysis. Also essential is to reference the literature used. Correct referencing is important because it identifies the source of the ideas and arguments that you present, and sometimes the source of the actual words you use, and helps to avoid the problem of plagiarism. Further information on plagiarism is provided later in this course outline.

The Harvard system is widely used in the Business School. Guidelines for the use of this style of referencing can be found in the Communication Skills Guide. Further assistance with referencing is available from the Faculty’s Learning Support Advisors. The contact details are provided on page 6 of the Communication Skills Guide.

Late Assignment Submission
Students are expected to submit their work by the due date to maintain a fair and equitable system. Extensions will generally only be given for medical or other serious reasons. All requests for extensions must be emailed to the lecturer in charge of the course before the due date. Each request will be assessed on its merits. A late assignment (without prior arrangement) will be penalised at a rate of 5% per day (or part thereof). Submitting your assignment late (with or without an extension) also means you miss the primary marking cycle; it probably will get returned to you a lot later than your classmates get theirs.

Return of Assignments
Lecturers aim to mark and return assignments to students within two (2) weeks of the due date with written feedback. Students are responsible for collecting their marked assignments from either their tutorials or lectures. If assignments aren’t collected after two (2) weeks, the assignments will be available at the Student Hub for two (2) weeks. The remaining assignments will only be posted out to the students, if the correct mailing addresses are on the assignments. Assignments for this course will be marked either online or using the hardcopy – your tutor will advise you of his/her preferred marking option.